


Redlight District

by twyly56



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Abusive Parents, Baby Demon Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern, Baby Demon Sebastian Verlac, Background Jocelyn Fairchild/Luke Garroway, Bad Parent Valentine Morgenstern, Brother-Sister Relationships, Burns, Cambion Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern, Cambion Sebastian Verlac, Crying, Demons Are Assholes, Developing Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Duct Tape, Edom (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Endgame Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Escape, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Good Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern | Sebastian Verlac, Good Parent Magnus Bane, He Hates His Birth Name, Hell Trauma, High Warlock of Brooklyn Magnus Bane, Hurt Sebastian, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, It's Just An Alias That Jonathan Prefers Over His Real Name, Jonathan Has Issues, Jonathan Prefers to Be Called Sebastian, Magnus Bane and His Adopting of Downworlders, Magnus Bane's Cat Eyes, Nightmares, Oblivious Clary Fray, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pandemonium Club (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Pentagrams, Poor Sebastian, Pre-Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Protective Sebastian, Restraints, Runes, Screaming, Sebastian Is So Soft For Clary, Sebastian Is a Poor Traumatized Little Cookie, Sebastian Verlac's Adorable English Accent, Sebastian is Charming and Everyone Thinks He's Adorable, Self-Harm, Shapeshifting Is Hard, Soft AF Sebastian, There Is No "Real" Sebastian Verlac, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, Valentine Morgenstern Being an Asshole, his dad sucks, not strictly canon compliant, protect him!, protective jonathan, sebastian has issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-09-20 03:30:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17014821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twyly56/pseuds/twyly56
Summary: Sebastian has had to live in the realm of Edom for years, abandoned there by his father. He endured all sorts of horrors at the hands of real demons, and he only manages to escape by hitching a ride on a Greater Demon's summoning. As it is, the Greater Demon almost kills him anyway. He runs away and is found by Magnus Bane. Magnus has always had a soft spot for strays.





	1. Chapter 1

**"Why should I love myself? No one else does."**

-Anonymous

The boy ran as quickly as he could on his burnt bare feet, only years of pain beforehand keeping him from breaking down and crying. He could only focus enough to make his face, neck, and hands appear smooth and human. His stolen clothes scraped irritably against his mutilated flesh, and he bit down on his lower lip. The boy spotted a building that had a large glowing red sign with the word, PANDEMONIUM. The music was loud and pulsating, and he didn't care about anything other than _getting away._  Now.

He darted inside, uncaring of the people waiting in line that yelled after him to stop, to get back there. He wove in between the people dancing to the beat of the music in the crowd, slipping past them without a word. He all but crashed into a man who had just stood up from his seat, flailing for a moment and falling into him. The boy lost his balance, and he landed awkwardly on his side, hitting the smooth floor with his hip first. The tinkle of glass shattering against the floor vaguely registered in his mind.

Clear, bitter smelling alcohol spilled out from broken champagne flutes. He scrambled up into a low crouch on his knees, lifting his eyes from the floor. The boy could feel the power exuding from the man with dark hair, and he whimpered. He crawled forward on aching knees and grabbed his black pant legs with trembling fingers. He knew his eyes had to be black by now, he was so nervous, but he could only hope that the warlock would listen. 

"Help me! Please please help me!" the boy rasped. "They're going to find me. _Please!_ " 

He continued to whisper his pleas against the warlock's cloth covered calf, shaking. He remembered the man he had called Father talking about them. They had demon's blood in their veins, too. Like him. Not quite the same. He was an experiment. Warlocks were more... natural, but still. He needed help. He needed it. The boy furiously blinked his eyes, willing them back to bright green. He quivered on the floor. The warlock stared at down at him with a war of emotions on his face. The boy reached under his pant leg and touched his fingers to the smooth skin of his ankle. 

_Magnus closed his eyes with a gasp as a vision flooded his mind._

_There was a pentagram, filling with red orange fire all along the drawn symbol. But this one had a boy in it. A young, little boy with blonde hair and green, green eyes. He was screaming, crying, begging - begging, and_ begging _\- for help, to be let out. He was saying that it hurt, that he hurt. There was a fire rising from the lines of the pentagram, fire rising around him. It was vivid. Bright._ Burning.

 _Magnus could feel the heat from the fire, could feel what the boy felt. He felt the pain, the betrayal, the despair._ _Little Jonathan didn't know what was happening to himself. Jonathan was probably about ten or eleven. His pale hair was shaggy, falling into his eyes. The same green eyes. These eyes turned black as he stared at the fire, a fire no child should ever have to see. He screamed and screamed and_ screamed.

_"Father, please! Take me out!" he cried. There was no reply. No one was there. Jonathan was yelling for shadows. His Father would never come. Ever._

_Magnus couldn't breath. His lungs were filling with smoke. Every inhale was more smoke than oxygen, and every exhale became lesser and lesser. The ground shifted. It was like an earthquake, but it was only focused beneath Magnus' feet. It was terrifying. Magnus watched on in horror as the floor fell out from beneath the blonde boy, and he was screaming for him._

_Magnus knew where the boy was going, and he also knew that he would never come back. Hell was real, and it was merciless, unforgiving._

The warlock's eyes cleared, yellow slits fading back to human brown, as he let go of his ankle, and the boy whimpered. Magnus came back into reality with a jolt. He could feel steady tears streaming down his cheeks, clinging to his jaw. Every time he shut his eyes, he was seeing the boy fall into the hole. Over and over again. Magnus noticed that there was pain in the boy's eyes as well. Magnus had never before met a demon who had had emotions. The boy let go of his black pant leg and backed away slowly, his apple green eyes trained on Magnus's. The warlock wanted to move forward with him.

"Please. Help me," the boy whispered. 

"You're Jonathan," Magnus said. "Valentine's son." 

"No. Yes. No. I'm - I'm _Sebastian,_ " he rasped. "Please please please please." 


	2. Chapter 2

The blonde boy was curled in a fetal position on his couch, knees tucked up against his chest, held in place by his arms. His body was still in the awkward stage of teenagedom that was right between being a child and an adult, leaving him with gangly limbs that would no doubt just make him be tall and lean in few months or years. His chin rested on top of his knees, and he was peering up at Magnus with scared green eyes. His feet, now that the lighting was better, the warlock could tell how they were burnt and blackened, like he had been in a horrific fire not that long ago. The deep, mottled burns trailed up under his ill fitting pants, and Magnus could only assume that they went further up his legs. He just didn't know how far. 

A rune was etched over the left side of his throat, trailing nearly up to his ear, covering over half of the pale skin to his collar bone. The dark mark burned into the flesh of the boy's neck was tinged with Black Magic, and it made Magnus's skin crawl just looking at it. It was dark, very dark. It was the kind of rune that could only be removed by the person who had placed it there. He quite literally could not remove it without killing Sebastian. He was disgusted by the monster that had raised the poor boy. What kind of man would do this to his own son? His only son. It was just further proof that Valentine was more zealous fanatic than Shadowhunter. 

"Little one, Sebastian, why do you have a permanent Calm Anger rune on your neck?" Magnus asked. The boy's eyes flickered black for a second, and he shut them as the warlock tentatively touched it, tilting his head to expose more of his neck with a shudder. 

"F-F-Valentine thought that it would make me less volatile. I think that he was scared of me, of what he made me. He couldn't control me, so he drew the rune on me. While that might have been a good idea initially, I was also sent to Edom shortly after. My powers relied mostly on my emotions, and I literally was unable to get angry. He made me helpless. I could not defend myself," Sebastian said quietly. "I eventually learned to use my pain and fear to access my magic, but by then it was much too late to matter much." He let out a shaky breath and tightened his grip on his knees. "He said he would take it off when he called me back. But he... he n-never came for me." 

"You are wearing a Glamour, yes?" Magnus said. The boy nodded, blonde hair falling into his eyes. "Could you drop it for me? I need to see what exactly is the problem, so that I can help you." 

"Okay," Sebastian murmured. 

He blinked, and there was a flickering shimmer that ran over his whole body. Black eyes stared up at him from a face disfigured with third degree burns. Magnus had no doubt that the burns went all the way over his body. Only a few sparse, raggedy tufts of the pale blonde hair remained in awkward patches on his scalp. 

"Does it hurt?" Magnus asked. 

"I... I don't know. It's all sort of numb," Sebastian admitted. "It does hurt a lot sometimes." 

"If you don't mind me asking, how did this happen, Sebastian?" Magnus prodded gently. 

"They said I was too _pretty_ for their world," Sebastian responded. 

"'They' being the demons?" Magnus said. 

"Mm hmm. So they took away my _pretty skin,_ " the boy rasped against his knees. It sounded like he was reciting something that had been said to him before. The warlock's heart ached for the boy. 

“The demon blood is a part of you now. You have adapted to it. I can’t do anything about that, and there is no spell to heal your burns,” Magnus told him in a neutral tone. There was no judgment in his voice. "You have had them for too long untreated. However, I can try a series of healing potions to see if that will regrow what you have lost. I am not certain it will work, though. I have never used them on anyone with injuries as extensive as yours are." 

"Anything you want to try, I am up for it," Sebastian insisted, his voice almost too soft to be heard. 

"The potions will be harmless, regardless of whether they work or not, but I must warn you. It won't exactly be a comfortable experience," Magnus said. 

"It's - it's fine," Sebastian replied. 

"Would you like something for the pain for now? I don't have any of the healing potions in stock yet. I will have to brew them, and that can take a few weeks," the warlock said. 

"Please," Sebastian murmured. He shut his eyes, and the blackened flesh on his face and hands faded back to the pale skin he had seen earlier. Blonde hair flopped over his eyebrows as he rocked slightly back and forth on the couch. 

Magnus waved his hands over the boy's face, and he felt the familiar thrum of his power buzz in his veins. Blue glowed out of his skin as he pressed it forward, letting it sink into Sebastian. Sebastian became less tense the more he did, and when he moved his hands lower, the boy was practically asleep, arms drooping sleepily down by his ankles. Magnus retrieved a green paste from a drawer in his kitchen and rubbed it into the boy's still burnt feet to keep them clean. He wrapped them in white gauze. Green eyes looked at him blearily for a moment. 

"Thank you, Mister Warlock," Sebastian said in a drowsy voice. His English accent, which Magnus still wasn't sure where he picked that up from, thickened from his tiredness and slurred his words. 

"You're welcome, Sebastian. And please. Call me Magnus," he replied. 

The boy nodded, leaning back against his knees and dropping into sleep almost immediately. If Sebastian had really been in Hell for so long, Magnus doubted he had gotten any sort of sleep at all. With the abrupt absence of pain and numbness, it had to be a bit much for the poor thing. It must be exhausting being back in the realm of the living. He readjusted the boy so he would not fall off the couch in his sleep, and he draped a spare blanket over his limp form, tucking it around him. 

Magnus regarded the boy in silence, rubbing his temples as he thought. It would be a terrible idea to let the Clave - or anyone really - know about young Sebastian quite yet. He was clearly traumatized, and he should not be around large groups of people, especially considering his childhood. Or lack thereof. If anyone asked, he would just say the boy was a fellow warlock. He had enough demonic energy to pass off as one anyhow. They could just cover up his neck rune with makeup or a scarf he supposed. It was better to be safe than sorry. He thankfully only had the one that was visible above his clothes. 


	3. Chapter 3

Sebastian padded across the hardwood floor on his bandaged feet, absently rubbing at the gauze that covered the right side of his face. The slowly regrowing skin tended to come in pink and raw, in random sized patches all over his body, after the blackened charred flesh peeled off, leaving him feeling itchy and achy beyond belief. Magnus had rubbed a cream over it and wrapped it to keep him from picking at the new skin. Just as well, he supposed. He did hope that the flesh on his hands would grow back sooner rather than later because he didn't imagine that he would be able to do much with them once that begun. 

The boy scanned through the shelves for a moment, looking for his book. He smiled slightly as he located it, and he pulled it off the shelf. Magnus had insisted that he learn his basics regarding school at least. The warlock was right, though. They did not exactly teach algebra or literature in Edom. Magnus didn't want him to be uneducated. Valentine had been fairly hard on him during his studies, but Sebastian had to admit he was lacking from years of being in another realm. He was only eleven when he was sent away. Sebastian was fascinated by the fact that the mundanes had a whole homeschooling system set up online. It was very thorough. 

He was relieved to have something to occupy his mind with other than pain or worry. It was... comforting. Sebastian was particularly enjoying the _Odyssey._ The computer generated agenda had in place an in depth essay that he would write upon completion, and he was looking forward to that. Analyzing things was quite fun in his opinion. Plus, it gave him something to do while the warlock went about his business during the day or night. Or both. Magnus would always check in with him when he had to leave the apartment every few hours unless he had gone to sleep. 

Sebastian walked over to the armchair Magnus liked to sit in by the couch - it smelled like him, _safe safe safe_ \- and he curled up with his legs tucked underneath his body. He propped the book on the armrest of the chair and flipped to the page he had left off on, pulling out his yellow sticky note bookmark and setting it on the coffee table. There was a familiar clattering noise as Magnus worked in his study. The boy heard the front door creak open, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He quickly set down his book, page one seventy eight, and he crept over to the wall divider that separated him the entrance area. He peered around it to see who it was. 

Raphael entered Magnus's apartment, and he took a moment to frown as a new smell drifted to him. It reminded the vampire of burnt flesh and mint, which was actually a bit repulsive in his opinion. A bright green eye blinked at him, slightly messy blonde hair hanging over his eyebrows. Or at least the one that was visible. The other half of his face was covered in white gauze. A loose grey pajama shirt hung off his skinny frame, and his pale fingers clutched at the wall, only the tips visible from the angle he was standing at. Raphael took a step further into the warlock's parlor room, and the boy disappeared behind the wall.  

"Are you a friend of Magnus's?" a soft British voice murmured as he walked through the living room area. 

"I am. And who are you? Little warlock," Raphael asked. 

"Sebastian," the boy responded quietly. The last part of his name he said as 'ti-an' rather than the American 'shun'. 

Sebastian was standing by the bookshelves with the fingers of his hands crooked slightly inward. The vampire tilted his head and smiled as he recognized the gesture. 

"Don't worry. I wouldn't hurt a charge of Magnus's," Raphael said. 

"Raphael? Is that you I hear?" Magnus's voice drifted to the pair as he walked into the living room. He grinned at them. "Ah. I see you have met Sebastian." The warlock waved the boy over to him, and Sebastian obediently padded to his side. "Now, we Downworlders must take care of each other. Who else will if we do not? Have I ever told you how I practically raised this young man over here, little one?" 

"No," Sebastian murmured. 

"Dios mío. Not this again," Raphael sighed, but it came out a bit fonder than he intended. He crossed his arms over his chest. "How many times must you tell this story?" 

"As many times as I like," Magnus replied with a smile. "Over my many centuries, I have taken many an unsupported fledgling Downworlder under my wing. I see them as my family. As I cannot have children of my own, they become like children to me. Raphael is one of them. Like you are, little one." The warlock plucked a nearly invisible piece of string off of the boy's shoulder and patted down his shirt. He turned to Raphael. "Now. What can I do for you, sweet boy?" 

"I need Dagon Root," Raphael said. 

"Vampire tranquilizer?" Magnus made a curious little hmm and trailed back into his study. Sebastian and Raphael followed him as he began shifting through items. 

"Yeah. There's a new recruit at the Dumort, and let's just say his transition's been a little rocky," the vampire said. 

"Well, that's only a temporary solution. He's going to have to face his fears. Lucky for you, I am open to a consultation if they want it. For a reasonable price of course," Magnus responded. He moved another box of bottles and tossed a notebook to the side. Raphael chuckled and shook his head. 

"Ah. Thanks. But I think we got it covered," he said. 

"If you think so, darling," Magnus replied. The warlock deposited a little vial with yellow liquid into his hands, and Raphael slipped it into his suit jacket. Sebastian watched them curiously. 


	4. Chapter 4

_The floor gave way from under his feet, and the blonde boy fell fell fell, so very far. It was so dark, and it burned like the fire of the pentagram he had been trapped in. His black eyes cleared, turning green once more as he could see again. The place around him was barren and red and looked like a nuclear bomb had just gone off in close proximity. He looked around this place, Hell, Edom. There was a whoosh of displaced air, and a woman dressed in a long white dress appeared. She was beautiful, with dark eyes lined with kohl and waist length black hair that fell in waves down her back. Jonathan took axwary step back from her. He could feel the darkness that she gave off. So much more than he ever had._

_"Where am I? Who are you?" little Jonathan asked, green eyes wide with fear. The fresh rune on his neck burned and ached against his flesh._

_"I am your Mother. I am so happy your father finally sent you here," the woman in white said, clasping her hands in front of herself. Jonathan frowned at her in confusion._

_"My mother hates me. That's why she left us," he told her. The woman sneered._

_"That woman who abandoned you, Jocelyn Fairchild, is not your true Mother. My blood is what made you so special, so powerful," the woman said. She stepped toward him, a smile on her face. Jonathan was frozen in place where he stood. "And your father punished you for it, but I won't. Because I know what a gift you are to this world. I love you so very, very much. More than anything. And I will never let anything bad happen to you."_

_The woman knelt in front of him and placed her hands on his biceps. A burning pain erupted in his muscles as her palms glowed white and red, and Jonathan cried out. He squirmed in her grip, but he could not move away. She was too strong, and his power too weak. It buzzed under his skin helplessly._

_"Shh, shh, shh... Mother loves you," the woman cooed._

_"Please please stop. Please," little Jonathan begged. Hot tears dripped down his pale cheeks._

_"Oh, sweet child of mine..." the honey sweet voice purred into Jonathan's ear. "Don't worry your pretty little head. Mother will make it all better. We'll get rid of that lovely angelic skin of yours, and then you'll be just like us. Isn't that what you want, sweetie? You'll be so, so strong. Just like Mother."_

_Her pretty facade melted away to reveal a grotesque creature with far too many teeth, dirty leather skin, huge bat like wings, and black eyes. Clawed hands curled around his arms, continuing to burn his skin. It hurt hurt hurt hurt._

_Jonathan_ screamed.

"-bastian. Sebastian!" Magnus's voice called. 

Sebastian's eyes flew open as he sat up abruptly in his bed, black as the empty night sky. Cold beads of sweat rolled down his back and down his forehead, tickling his eyelids. His blonde hair was a tangled sweaty mess on top of his head. His heart pounded in his chest, oh so loudly. The boy blinked, and he noticed the warlock's hand on his shoulder with a start. His eyes turned apple green as he looked at Magnus. Magnus brushed his messy hair back from his damp forehead with a smooth hand. 

"Oh, sweet boy. What happened?" the warlock asked. 

Sebastian's lips parted, and he let out a small shaky exhalation of breath. His eyes were wide, and his skin was clammy, pale, cold. 

"Lilith," was all he could say. "I had a dream about my Mother." 

"Little one. I'm so sorry," Magnus said. His brown eyes were sincere, soft. "Do you mind if I..." 

He gestured, coming closer to the boy's side, and Sebastian nodded slowly, still a bit shaky from his memory dream. Nightmare. The warlock smiled and wrapped his arms around the blonde boy, holding him close to his chest. He slowly rubbed Sebastian's back in gentle motions up and down, and the boy shuddered, closing his eyes. Sebastian rested his head on the warlock's shoulder. Magnus hummed softly to him in a strange tune that was oddly soothing. The fear so deeply ingrained in his body slowly dissipated, becoming bearable. 

"Feeling any better, Sebastian?" Magnus asked. 

"Yes. Thank you," the boy murmured. 

 

Magnus peeled off another white bandage from Sebastian's face, and he dipped his fingers in the container of clear paste. The warlock smeared it liberally over the boy's cheek and massaged it into the raw pink flesh. Sebastian held still for him for him to work, and the paste felt cold against his new skin. It was still a very slow process, regrowing him a whole new set of skin that is. The potion regimen Magnus had decided on did appear to be working, which Sebastian was grateful for. It tasted abysmal, but the results were worth it. His hands and feet were still bandaged. It had only been a few months. Sebastian was patient. He had to be, considering his childhood. 

The warlock carefully wrapped the boy's face up again with clean white bandages, and he patted it in place. Sebastian gave him a small smile in thanks. He was learning to express his positive emotions in little increments. It was strange to be able to do so without fear of punishment. Love was still... difficult for him to understand really, but Magnus was trying to show him how to show that, too. He said that it was not a weakness. It was a strength. Sebastian had never thought of it that way before. He supposed that it could make sense that way. After all, his fear, his pain made him strong. Why not love? But Magnus's love was soft and kind. It was unlike anything he had ever been shown before.

"Would you like to meet a friend of mine later today, little one?" Magnus asked him. Sebastian looked at up at him. 

"That sounds fun," the boy admitted softly. The warlock smiled in response. 

"Great. I'll let Catarina know then," Magnus said. "She's a warlock, too. A healer. I'm sure you'll love her. She's a wonderful lady." 

"I already can't wait to meet her, then," Sebastian responded. "Your friend, if she is anything like you, then I will enjoy her company." 

Magnus chuckled and ruffled his blonde hair. 

"Silly boy. Now show me what you've been practicing," he said. 

Sebastian smiled, and he let his power sizzle out from his skin. His hands glowed bluish white, from fingertips to palms. He crooked his fingers, forming a small ball of magic in their center. His eyes were black as he concentrated, brows furrowed. The boy trailed the ball through the air, moving it with his hands. Magnus nodded with an encouraging smile. 

"That is definitely a good start. Next, I want you focus on getting your magic to push and pull things," the warlock said. 

"Okay," the boy murmured. He smiled. 


	5. Chapter 5

Sebastian swung his bandaged bare feet, glamoured to look like they had lace up boots on, lazily as he sat the step of the balcony outside Magnus's apartment. A slight breeze blew past him and ruffled his blonde hair, blowing it away from his forehead. He had his textbook open in his lap and a notepad on the cement beside himself. The boy worried the tip of the pen between his teeth as he thought before he scribbled down his notes on the yellow lined paper. He wanted to get some studying in before Magnus's friend Catarina came over. 

The boy was distracted when he heard a clatter from below in the street. Sebastian looked down to see a pair of mundane kids walk through the alleyway. One of the young teenagers was a boy with brown hair and glasses and the other was a girl with vibrant red hair, like an open flame. They were giggling and arguing over a paper map, tugging it between them. The boy with glasses shook his head and pointed the opposite way that the girl was indicating. The redhead was insistent, tugging at his hand. Sebastian tilted his head and leaned closer to the edge to hear them better. 

"No, Clary, we missed Fifty Second Street. It's back that way," the boy with glasses said. 

"I'm pretty sure it's up ahead, Simon! Come on. Let's go look at least," the girl - _Clary_ \- insisted.

_A small mouth opened in a yawn. Tiny pudgy fingers grabbed at his own, sleepy green eyes blinking up at him. Little Jonathan giggled and patted the fuzzy, fluffy red hair poking up from the baby's head. The small reddish pink face scowled at him and let out a grumpy gurgling noise. Jonathan kissed the baby's forehead, just like - like -_

_"No, no, don't touch her!" the voice said from behind him. "You'll get her sick."_

The bright rays of the autumn sun caught her face, and Sebastian saw her eyes. They were green, bright green. She had an adorable dusting of brown freckles on her cheeks and nose. They stood out starkly against her pale skin. Sebastian stared at her for a few seconds, absolutely mesmerized. He had no idea why, but she was strangely familiar to him. Clary, Clary, Clary. Did he know a Clary? 

Sebastian frowned, and he set his book down on his notepad. He leaned over the side of the railing, concentrating, his power buzzing under his skin. The boy made an illusion of himself appear in the street behind the mundanes. He walked up to the girl, and tapped her on the shoulder. The redhead spun around with wide eyes. Her companion did the same, but looked more defensive, wary. Sebastian gave them a friendly smile. He gestured to the way they had come from. 

"I'm sorry. I could not help but overhear your conversation. Fifty Second Street is actually back that way a few blocks," Sebastian told them. 

"Oh, uh, thanks!" Clary said. Simon gave her a 'see' look. 

"Yeah, thanks, man," Simon said. 

"I would advise you to be careful and try not to get lost here again," Sebastian replied. "This area of town is not safe at night." 

"Will do. Have a nice day," the girl said. 

"Goodbye," Sebastian murmured in response, smiling slightly. His and Clary's eyes met, two similar shades of green clashing against each other. The girl blinked, ending the moment of _connection._  

_Do I know you?_

The redhead and her friend waved before they disappeared around the corner of the alley wall. The illusion faded away, and Sebastian opened his eyes again. He blinked them back to green. The boy grabbed his textbook and flipped it open again, pulling his pen from his notepad. 

 

Sebastian was excited to meet another warlock. Especially a female one. He had never met a female warlock before. It was really nice of Magnus to introduce him to his friend. He knew that the warlock did not have many actual friends, so it was definitely a privilege. 

Catarina was a woman almost the same height as Magnus was. Just a bit shorter. She had black braided hair and dark brown eyes like Magnus's glamoured ones. Her skin was a rich brown color, and Sebastian was honestly fascinated. He had never seen a skin tone in person that shade, and it was beautiful. Physically, she looked to be the same age as Magnus, but she was a warlock. That didn't mean much. She wore a light blue nurse uniform, the kind that they wore in hospitals nowadays. Sebastian extended his hand to her like Magnus had shown him and smiled politely. 

"Hello, Miss Catarina," the boy said. 

The warlock woman chuckled, a warm sound that washed over him like molasses, thick and comforting. He found he rather liked it. She shook his hand. Her handshake was firm, her skin calloused and warm. 

"Just Catarina is fine, kid," Catarina replied. Her teeth looked white, especially against her dark skin, when she smiled. 

"Catarina," Sebastian quickly amended. 

"So I hear you are Magnus's latest stray?" Catarina said. 

"Oh. Yes. I suppose that I am. My name is Sebastian," he told her. 

"Are you wearing a glamour?" Catarina asked. 

"Um... yes," Sebastian replied softly. He rubbed the inside of his wrist. She smiled gently at him. 

"Me too," Catarina said. 

"Really?" Sebastian murmured in surprise. "What on? Oh, I apologize. Is that rude to ask?" He bit his lip, looking down. 

"It's fine. I mentioned it first. I can show you if you want," Catarina said. Sebastian looked back up at her. 

"Yes, please," he responded eagerly. 

The warlock woman smiled, and her skin shimmered. Her dark complexion melted into a deep blue color, and her hair turned the color of snow. Sebastian stared at her, awed. It was amazing. 

"That's awesome," the boy exclaimed. 

"Thank you," Catarina said. Her skin and hair returned to what it had been before. "Your turn." 

"Oh, okay," Sebastian replied. He was a bit nervous because he had only ever taken it off around Magnus. But she seemed really nice, and she was Magnus's friend. The boy exhaled, and his glamour fell away with a hazy flicker. Her dark eyes widened. 

"Wow. Okay. That's some warlock mark you've got there, kiddo," Catarina said. 

But she didn't seem disgusted by his skin, so Sebastian smiled shyly at her. The warlock woman smiled back. 

"Do you know any other healing potions for burns?" Magnus asked. 

"I think what you've told me you've been doing is the best option really," Catarina replied.  "But dear lord, what happened to him?" 

"Let's just say he had one hell of a messed up family," the warlock said. 

"I'll say," Catarina agreed. "Damn." She shook her head. The warlock woman turned to the boy. His glamour shimmered back up. "Do you want to make some potions with us, kid?" 

"Sure!" Sebastian said. 


	6. Chapter 6

Sebastian spotted the doorknob being jiggled, and it started to open despite the fact that it was supposed to be locked. He moved over to the door and placed his bandaged hands on the smooth wood. An unfamiliar hand tried to go inside around the door, and Sebastian quickly pushed it back. He did not know what was going on, but he was definitely not letting some random person come into Magnus's apartment. 

"You cannot come in here. If you want an appointment, please come back later," the boy said. 

"Come on, kid. We just want to speak with Mr. Bane," the male voice replied. 

"No. Come back later," Sebastian reiterated. 

"Come on. Just for a bit?" the stranger prompted. 

"I said no. You cannot come in right now. Magnus Bane is not here at the moment," Sebastian said. 

"Surely he won't mind if we come in and wait for him, then, will he?" the stranger replied. 

Sebastian had to push his whole body against the door to keep him from pushing it open. He did not particularly care that he almost smashed the man's fingers in the gap between the door and door frame. It was the man's fault anyway. He had warned him. Sebastian heard the stranger growl in frustration. 

"Open the damn door, you little shit," the man said. 

How crude. 

"No," Sebastian responded evenly. 

"Open the door now," the man growled. 

"No!" Sebastian repeated. 

The boy was flung back by a wave of energy as the door... basically exploded. Shards of wood flew everywhere, and Sebastian landed on his back on the hardwood floor. The glimmering golden rune faded in the air where the door had once been, and the strangers strode inside the threshold. Sebastian scrambled to his bandaged feet, raising his green eyes up to meet theirs. One of them had dark skin like Catarina Loss and curly black hair. The other one had pale skin like him and longish brown hair. They both wore black sunglasses. The boy's chest tightened at the sight of black runes creeping out from under their suits and up the skin of their wrists and necks. The covered flesh of his own neck ached dully as a memory flashed past his mind. 

_Cold chains wrapped around his wrist and forearms. Warm hands holding his head to the side even as little Jonathan squirmed. The heat of the stele as it hovered above his skin. Shallow, rapid breaths escaping the boy's mouth, terror rushing through his veins._

_"F-Father... please don't..." Jonathan begged._

_"This is for your own good, son," was his response._

_The heat intensified as the stele pressed into his skin, and the rune was drawn, slowly, deliberately, over his neck. It burned burned burned. Jonathan whimpered._

"Tell us where the warlock is, half blooded demon scum," the brown haired one demanded.

Sebastian realized with a start that one of their hands was in his hair, holding his head back, and a shiny silver blade was pressed to his throat. He raised his green eyes from the floor, his gauze covered hands trembling ever so slightly, and he felt the rush of his power under his skin in response to the adrenaline that pulsed in his veins. He could see his reflection in the black surface of the sunglasses. His pupils were wide, his blonde hair falling in a tangled mess over his forehead. 

"If you even think about touching Magnus, I will end you," Sebastian murmured, his accented voice soft but steady. 

"And just how are you going to do that? This is a seraph blade, Downworlder," the other one said. 

"I am Sebastian," the boy replied. Not Jonathan. Never Jonathan. Jonathan was dead. Dead dead dead. 

_"My precious son."_

_"Mother, stop them! Please! Please please please!"_

_"Don't worry, Jonathan. This is good for you."_

The sharp edge of the silver blade dug into the sore flesh of his neck, and the boy's eyes bled a flat black color. The man holding him looked shocked for a moment before his power burst out of him in a wild surge of energy. The part where the man was holding him turned scalding hot, and the man let go of his hair with a yelp. Sebastian moved up, extending his arms to either side of himself. His hands glowed red with his emotions, and the men were flung into opposite walls. Sebastian stared at them intently with his black eyes, slowly twisting his open hands into fists, curling his fingers. They struggled for air, lungs no doubt burning, legs dangling a few inches above the ground. The plaster of the wall behind them was cracked and crumbling from how hard he had thrown them. 

"You do not get to ever threaten him, _ever._ Do I make myself perfectly clear? Or would you like me to spell it out some more for you?" Sebastian asked. The panic he had felt earlier was gone, replaced a rigid sense of calm. He twisted his fingers a little more to the right, and their necks bent with the motion. Their faces were pained and rapidly turning an unattractive purplish red hue. When the men choked out a 'yes', the boy let them fall from his magical grip. They fell to the floor with a thud, landing on their knees and gasping for breath. "Now. Get. _Out!"_  

He all but screamed the last word. Red power crackled up from his skin and sparked in the air around him. The men moved to their feet and scrambled out of Magnus's apartment. Cold beads of sweat dripped down from his forehead, and a few trickled down his back. Sebastian's eyes faded back to green, and he collapsed to the floor, panting from exertion, trembling with leftover adrenaline. That was where Magnus found him a few hours later when he came back from his meeting with a client. 

"Oh, little one, what happened?" Magnus asked. He wrapped his arms around the boy, and the blonde leaned into his touch, shaking a bit. 

"I'm - I'm sorry..." 


	7. Chapter 7

Shivering slightly in the late autumn air, Sebastian set off down the sidewalk, intent on getting to the bookshop before the rain got any worse. Magnus had been encouraging him to try to go out to places near the apartment by himself lately. He was technically going to be a legal adult in few months, so he supposed that made sense. Independence and all that. The soaked red, orange, and yellow leaves stuck to the bottoms of his boots as he walked down the empty sidewalk, and a harsh wind blew his fluffy hair in all directions, practically sending his hood flying all the way down. The boy hastily shoved it back up, tucking it around his face to keep the rain from hitting him. Sebastian kept his eyes on the sidewalk since looking straight into the wind was stinging his eyes.

Sebastian pushed open the door to the quaint little bookshop, and the bell above the entrance tinkled as he stepped inside. His booted feet squeaked against the smooth flooring, slick with rain water from outside. A fairly normal looking man, late twenties to early thirties, tanned skin, black hair, neatly trimmed goatee, stood by a cart full of books, carefully reshelving them back in place. If Sebastian couldn't sense the subtle buzz of his magic, he would have thought the man was just a normal storekeeper. The warlock turned to him, pausing in his shelving. His slim glasses glinted in the yellow light of the lights overhead. Sebastian gave him a friendly smile and walked forward. 

"Hello," the warlock greeted him. "How can I help you today?" 

Sebastian made a little hmm and glanced around the store. He rather liked the smell it had, a mixture of something herbal and perhaps sandalwood, and the cozy feel it gave off. He might come back here later actually. It was pretty nice in here. He wasn't sure it was the kind of place he could get Magnus to visit, but he found he enjoyed it quite a lot. 

"It's a lovely shop you have here," Sebastian said. He made sure to enunciate his words clearly because he had found that some Americans had trouble understanding his accent for some reason.

The warlock smiled politely and walked towards him. 

"Why thank you," he replied. He rested his hands on his hips. "It's been my life's work." 

The boy picked up a book from one of the display tables and flipped it open to a random page. He skimmed through the tightly compacted words before closing it and setting the book down again. 

"Absolutely fascinating," Sebastian said softly. He took a step forward and held out his hand to the warlock. He smiled warmly. "I'm Sebastian Verlac. It has been a pleasure to meet you." 

The warlock accepted his hand and shook it firmly. 

"Elliott Norse. Is there anything in particular that I can help you find?" he asked. The boy smiled shyly and pushed the hood of his raincoat down. 

"Oh, um... see, that's the thing. I overheard a conversation about a book, so I don't know any real specifics," Sebastian told him. 

"Okay. Let's see if we can figure this out, then. Fiction, nonfiction, true crime... any of those ring a bell?" Elliott asked, listing off genres on his fingers. 

"Fiction," the boy answered assuredly. He followed the warlock as he walked around the cart of books. 

"That's a start," Elliott hummed. "Author?"

"No. Sorry," Sebastian responded. 

"You're not making this very easy, kid," the warlock chuckled.

"Sorry," Sebastian murmured. He clasped his hands behind his back, lacing his fingers together. The warlock turned to face him and gave him an understanding smile.

"Don't worry. It wasn't like you didn’t warn me..." Elliott said. "Do you know any of the character's names?"

"Um... Gus? Maybe Hazel?" Sebastian ventured. 

"What else did you overhear about the book?" Elliott asked him. The boy stayed close behind him as he started toward the young adult reading section.

"I remember colors, if that helps. Green. No, blue," Sebastian said. 

"Could it have been both?" the warlock offered, reaching for a particular book near the back of the shelf. 

"It could have been, I suppose," Sebastian said with a little frown. 

He looked down at the book that the warlock held out to him. The title read _A Fault in Our Stars_. Ah, yes. That was it. 

"It's by John Green and, as you can see, it's also blue," Elliott told him. 

"Have you read it?" Sebastian asked as he accepted the book from him and inspected it closely, holding it in his bandaged hands. The warlock let out a little sigh. 

"I have. Several times in fact," Elliott said. 

"So, I should get it?" Sebastian asked him. 

"Tell me something, Sebastian. Do you cry easily?" Elliott asked. Sebastian let out a soft scoffing sound and shook his head. 

"Oh no. I don't think so," he replied. 

"Sure, okay," Elliott said, his voice slightly teasing. 

"What? I do not," the boy insisted, following him to the register.

Elliott rang up the book and shook his head as Sebastian pulled out his wallet, running his own card instead. Sebastian looked at him, confused. 

"This one's on me," Elliott told him. 

"What is the catch?" Sebastian inquired, narrowing his eyes. 

"Simple," the warlock murmured. "Read the book."

"That's it?" Sebastian asked. With a shrug, the warlock slipped the book into a bag and handed it over. Sebastian grabbed it from him, holding it by his side. 

"Well, not entirely," Elliott said. 

"Of course. What else?" Sebastian asked him. 

"Once you're done, let me know whether or not you cried. That's it," Elliott said. 

"That's all?" Sebastian asked. 

"Yeah. That's all," Elliott responded. He smiled at him as Sebastian moved toward the door. "Have nice day now." Sebastian smiled back at him, crinkling the material of the plastic bag as he pulled the book closer to his body. 

"Thank you. And you as well," Sebastian said. He pushed the door open and walked back out into the drizzling rain. He flipped his hood back over his head, keeping his book bag close to his chest to keep it from getting wet. 


End file.
